Avodah a ministry of IKan Ministries

12/26/2023

I have a lot of thoughts here but will just say with:
God is good all the time.
Even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Don’t trust your feelings.
Trust the word.

02/04/2023

Whether you are standing firm or weak kneed - going through a valley, about to go through a battle or just over one, I am here to remind you of whose you are, who you are, what you have so you know what to do - standing firm in Christ through it all.

Equipped to Stand is available in your favorite podcasting app: https://linktr.ee/equippedtostand

10/11/2020

08/20/2020

Many will fall away. Wake up. Preach the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

https://youtu.be/19w9-g1ShrU

08/19/2020

Open ears. Open eyes. Look up.

07/16/2020

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/59/ecc.1.9.esv

Nothing is broken and we aren’t going to lose. The Earth orbits the sun. It rises and sets. Seasons come and go. People are born and people die. Oceans have tides. The earth produces fruit. Nothing material has changed since the Lord set it in motion.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/59/1pe.5.8.esv

We still have an enemy. We are still warned to be sober not drunk in our minds. We should be watchful because the enemy wants to devour you - that means kill you dead - and he will use anything to do that. It’s still not new. Can you imagine who the lion eats first - the sober man or the drunk one? Stay sober.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
‭‭John‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/59/jhn.10.10.esv

Jesus is still alive. He still paid the price for our sins and took stripes for all our infirmities. He came and removed our separation from God. This is good news because we no longer have to expect to be punished for living a life only barely different that anyone we accuse. We lie, cheat, steal and hate in our hearts. And it’s not counted any less sinful than what you say is so bad in the world. This is not new. When we’ve accepted Christ we are always and forever fully forgiven. It’s this undeserved outcome that draws us close to love and away from sin. It draws us to live righteously and that has benefits. It produces loving relationships that can’t be taken away. We make money because we care about people and we want to help meet their needs and then they meet ours. Everyday when we walk in such a way to become more like Christ we always win. This will always produce an abundant life.

Then there is judgement coming. That’s not new either. The self indulging lifestyle is still empty and sad. It’s like a broken cup that can never be filled. It’s pointless to try, but people still do try because they do not want to admit they are wrong and that Jesus is real and He’s alive and He loves them. They can’t take being wrong and they can’t take being loved without paying a price. They actually want everyone who has wronged them to pay a price. This is because they squarely understand the judgment coming to them. They believe the news of Jesus taking this pain away is too good to be true so it must not be true. Without Christ then there is now still eternal separation from a loving God. It’s not because of you or me. It’s because people reject Jesus. That’s not new either.

So, what do we do?

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/59/rom.12.2.esv

Don’t do anything up, down, sideways, or anyway like anyone around you. Rather have your mind renewed chasing after God’s will.

How do we do that?

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/59/1co.11.1.esv

If you found only one single thing that Jesus did and you imitated Him in that with all your heart, mind, soul and body everyday you would see that His Word works and you would not only know in your heart he is real but you would see the abundance in your everyday life.

Don’t worry. Nothing has changed. It’s not a new fact that as adopted sons and doughters of Jesus we still win.

—TY

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

04/12/2020

Early one Sunday morning, everything changed.
We were given:
⁃ endless love and acceptance
⁃ the eradication of all our sin
⁃ the gift of life
⁃ the ability to be God’s house
⁃ the authority over the enemy
⁃ the choice to choose or reject Jesus

“Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.”

‭‭John‬ ‭20:1-2, 11-18‬ ‭NLT‬

01/13/2020

This worship song and this one, in particular, has had me dancing like a crazy woman and on my face over the past week in the middle of the night after my family is in bed, I try to stay up just so I can dance, cry, celebrate, and love Jesus with radical abandon - no eyes on me!! "Even when I don't see that you're working, you're making a way!" Come on! Father, show us your glory!! I invite you to please watch, engage, worship, dance, let go, go deep, "press past the temporary and into the eternal to remind you of who our Jesus is"! (please don't stop short - go all the way to the end of the 30 mins. of this video)

Worship moment recorded live at Jesus '19. Visit https://jesusimage.tv for more info.

08/13/2019

“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.